POSTED BY ORHAN
Today Glenn Greenwald explained why Obama continually folds on tax cuts to the rich and cuts in social services — it’s not because the President and his advisers are weak, incompetent negotiators unable to stand up to crafty, intransigent Republicans — things turn out the way they do because Obama and the Democrats, with few exceptions, want them to turn out that way:
Conventional D.C. wisdom — that which Obama vowed to subvert but has done as much as any President to bolster — has held for decades that Democratic Presidents succeed politically by being as “centrist” or even as conservative as possible. That attracts independents, diffuses GOP enthusiasm, casts the President as a triangulating conciliator, and generates raves from the DC press corps — all while keeping more than enough Democrats and progressives in line through a combination of anti-GOP fear-mongering and partisan loyalty.
Isn’t that exactly the winning combination that will maximize the President’s re-election chances? Just consider the polling data on last week’s budget cuts, which most liberal commentators scorned. Americans support the “compromise” by a margin of 58-38%; that support includes a majority of independents, substantial GOP factions, and 2/3 of Democrats.
And yes, the President “got tough” in today’s budget speech and swore he wouldn’t cave in to the Republicans: “we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. And as long as I’m President, we won’t.”
We’ll see.
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
Whatever Works 
We’ll have to wait and see if he’s going to lead….
I still think he’ll step back and wait like he always does until he see’s which way the wind is blowing….
As much as people complain..He does make out pretty darn good….
The actual cuts in the 2011FY deal are less than $20B…..
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Yes, we’ll see. I only hope he can maintain a stand against a House of Representatives that is too politically motivated to compromise on ANYTHING.
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He, he, he…..Check todays papers…I did this story over at the Politicaldog…..
The cuts ACTUALLY will only amount to $17B…..NOT $38B…..
Obama gets over again….
Most people are too busy compalining about him….
But he almost always finds a way to come out on top….
Boehner now has to deal with his caucus…
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Orhan et al: Just dropping in here to say while I”m unbloggy, I’m not THIS unbloggy – having computer problems, many, mulitple, domino kind of computer problems. I fear a new machine is in my near future.
Meanwhile, wouldn’t mind Orhan if you dropped my apologies on home page – I can’t get through to admin areas of the blog.
Aaaagggghhhh. (Hope this publishes!)
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President Obama gave a political speech and not a policy speech in response to Paul Ryan’s plan . It played great with you guys, but again it shows that the President is not serious about the deficit . Do you remember how he said he would cut the deficit in half by the end of his first 4 years ? That is out the window .
I would not get too joyful about your guy growing a back bone . He has shown a real tendency to reverse himself on a dime . In other words, the promises he makes today won’t mean squat tomorrow . The difference between you and us is that we have never been stupid enough to believe him .
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“Political speech not policy speech” — mindless Republican talking points dispensed by the rightwing spin machine. Googling the speech an hour or two afterwards, the rightwing web was full of the identical verbiage from pundits and bloggers alike. All the little Republican pod people spewing the exact same drivel in lockstep, not even comprehending or caring what they were saying — but of course meaning is irrelevant, just repeat the words often enough and they become true.
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Hey Alan…..
Obama’s doing fine 2 fo2….
In both times he’s tangled with the GOP….. He’s come out ahead…..
Healthcare…..
and the 2011 budget….
He may not lead..but he does good…
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It is not surprising that democrats sound more and more like republicans. The Democratic Party drove out most of its liberal voices long ago. It was the liberal voice that kept the democrats from moving to far to the right.
“Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican every time.”
Harry S. Truman
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jamesb,
You’re right, he is winning . He had both Houses of Congress with super duper majorities to get Obama-Care . And he had the Senate and the threat of a shutdown to get the 2011 budget. Yea, almost no cuts. As we get closer and closer to insolvency, yes you are right . The guy YOU put into the White House is winning . America is losing , but you and Obama are winning . Charlie Sheen is also winning and sadly he is saner than our fearless leader or you .
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I WISH OJMA WOULD RUN. WERE YOU BORN IN THE USA?
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